Active residents
-
of employed residents are under 40.
46.7 %
Foreword
This summary only concerns residents and naturally does not include cross-border workers, whose jobs in Luxembourg in November 2021 (at the time of the census) accounted for 44% of the country's total employment. However, the census is the only source of data that allows to draw a cross-tabulated table of occupations and sectors with numerous individual characteristics (education, country of origin, place of residence and work, languages used, etc.).
What is the general profile
of working residents?
In 2021, Luxembourg will have almost 280,000 resident workers, 59.2% of whom (i.e. 6 out of 10) were born abroad. This working population is relatively young and educated. Indeed, 46.7% of employed residents are under 40, while 27.1% are aged between 40 and 49. 13.1% are aged between 50 and 54, and the remaining 13.2% are over 55. Compared with the European Union average, Luxembourg is characterised by an economy specialising in highly qualified professions. More specifically, it is distinguished by a much higher concentration in intellectual and scientific professions (33.3% of resident employment, compared with 19.5% of employment in the EU according to official Eurostat figures) and in managerial professions (6.4% in Luxembourg compared with 5.2% in the EU).
Elementary occupations are also more represented in Luxembourg (11.3%) than in the EU (8.7%). For details of the ISCO classification of occupations, see here.
Figure 1: Breakdown of resident workers by sector of activity
Regarding the languages spoken, although they were the subject of a previous study, it should be remembered that Luxembourgish predominates in the public administration and agriculture sectors, while French prevails in the others, particularly in the trade and catering, construction, and real estate sectors. English is more common among managers and scientists, while Portuguese is very present in the skilled industry and crafts and among skilled workers. Geographical analysis shows a linguistic divide, with Luxembourgish and German dominant in the north and east of the country, while French and English predominate around the capital and in the south.
Education levels of natives and immigrants
Immigration plays an essential role in the workforce. In fact, foreign-born people working in Luxembourg in 2021 represent a very large proportion, unprecedented in Europe: 59.2% of all residents in employment.
101,077 residents have a secondary education qualification, representing the largest group of graduates at 36.7%. Luxembourg natives make up the majority: 55.7% were born in Luxembourg and 44.3% were born abroad. In contrast, 50,536 residents did not complete secondary education. A quarter (27.5%) were born in Luxembourg and three quarters (72.47%) were born abroad. 124,044 people have higher education qualifications. Here, non-natives make up the majority: one in three was born in Luxembourg and two in three (66.1%) were born abroad.
Taking a closer look at higher education graduates, 50,597 people living in Luxembourg have a short university degree (or undergraduate degree) and 73,447 have a long university degree. The proportion of non-natives increases with the level of university education; for long university graduates, three quarters (73.4%) were born abroad and one quarter (26.3%) were born in Luxembourg. This highlights the country's strong dependence on highly qualified foreign workers.
Figure 2: Distribution of the resident population in employment by level of education and country of birth
Beyond the comparison of education levels between natives and non-natives, there is a certain divide in the education levels of foreign-born workers. Nearly half of workers born in Portugal do not have a secondary school qualification (47.6%). In contrast, almost half of resident workers born in Belgium, France and Germany have a long university degree (47.6%). This proportion is even higher among workers from the rest of the EU (50.7%) and slightly lower for workers from non-EU countries (29.1%).
Sectors of activity of natives and immigrants
Nearly 6 out of 10 workers in resident employment were born abroad (59.2%). How does this average distribution vary by occupational category?
Firstly, and unsurprisingly, public administration - a very broad sector encompassing diverse activities such as education, justice, and the hospital professions - employs a majority of natives (70.4%).
Agriculture is the second sector in which native workers are in the majority (74.1%).
Conversely, the proportion of foreign-born workers is highest in finance and insurance (75.7%), but also in communications (67.8%), trade and catering (64.8%), and construction (81.7%).
Finally, foreign-born workers account for more than half of those employed in real estate (59.7%) and industry (59.1%).
Figure 3: Native/non-native distribution by sector of activity
Figure 4: Share of natives/non-natives by sector of activity
Education levels of men and women
Men and women often do not work in the same sectors or professions, and do not necessarily have the same levels of education. However, with the strong growth in women's education levels and their access to jobs that were closed to them in the past, these gender differentials are expected to narrow over time.
Figure 5: Distribution of education levels for women and men (%)
In particular, there is little difference between men and women at the first levels of education, corresponding to the lowest qualifications. There are, however, differences at the highest levels. Women are more likely than men to have a bachelor's degree, but slightly less likely to have a doctorate.
Sectors of activity for men and women
By sector, the results show, as expected, an unequal presence of men and women. Only 3 sectors show a certain gender balance. These are financial and insurance activities, real estate activities and specialist, scientific and technical activities, and administrative and support service activities.
Figure 6: Share of female and male employment by sector (%)
These differences can be explained by several factors. The first group of factors has to do with gender stereotypes, with, for example, sectors traditionally seen and considered as destined for one gender or the other. A second group has to do with more effective barriers to training, recruitment and working life. A third group of factors relates to the attractiveness of jobs in each sector, such as pay.
Furthermore, in terms of the difference between men and women, major differences emerge when we look at declared working hours. While 35.8% of women stated that they work less than the statutory 40 hours, and therefore part-time, only 7.6% of men responded in this way.
Unemployed residents
2% of all residents state that they are unemployed at the time of the census (end 2021). It is important to note that these figures should not be interpreted as unemployment rates (the employment administration being the reference institution in this exercise), but simply as an indication of the proportion of unemployed people in the census. It should also be noted that the average age of unemployed people is 40.
The level of education may be one of the factors revealing mismatches between labour supply and demand, and/or between training and employment. Nearly two-thirds of the unemployed (65.9%) have less than upper secondary education (i.e. no baccalaureate). On the other hand, 29.3% have a level of education higher than the bachelor's degree. It should be pointed out that unemployment is highly seasonal, and that as the census took place at the end of the year, it is possible that these people are young graduates who have not yet found a job.
For non-natives, levels of education higher than the bachelor's degree are over-represented among the unemployed, especially for people from South America, Asia, and North America, where these higher levels of education are in the majority (49.9%, 56.2% and 72.6% respectively have a bachelor's degree, a master's degree or even a doctorate). These observations could be explained by difficulties in recognising diplomas for new arrivals, a necessary adaptation period, or language barriers.
The possible need for a period of adaptation is suggested by the fact that 30.3% of these unemployed people emigrated to Luxembourg in the three years preceding the census.
Find out more about the active residents in Luxembourg
More results
In the coming months, various publications will be produced for the public, but also for the public specialised in demographic issues. At the same time, statistical tables on the various census topics will be published on the Statistics Portal.
Why is the census important?
Census results are essential information for public policy decision-making.
Census data help to forecast needs for land use planning, schools, nurseries, hospitals, retirement and nursing homes, housing, etc.
Why is the census important? (Video/Audio YouTube)
Last update